The Philadelphia Phillies, looking to bolster their pitching in the stretch, obtained the right-hander from the Cincinnati Reds today for young and durable minor league lefty Matt Maloney.

The 28-year-old Lohse is 6-12 with a 4.58 ERA in 21 starts this season, going 4-3 with a 2.57 ERA at home but 2-9 with a 6.42 ERA in the road. He is 4-6 in his last 10 decisions.

In eight seasons with the Twins and Reds, Lohse is 60-74 with a 4.83 ERA. Cincinnati acquired him from Minnesota at the July 31 trade deadline last year.

"I'm a little excited, happy to be going to a team in the race. But I'm disappointed we couldn't get it done here. So it's a little bit of mixed emotions," Lohse said.

Asked whether he'd pitched better than his statistics indicate, Lohse said: "I feel that way, but my numbers are what they are. ... I had a couple bad games here and there that kind of skewed the numbers."

Lohse pitched five postseason games while with the Twins from 2002-2004, starting one and going 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA.

"We like the Double-A pitcher, but we had to give up something to get something," Phillies general manager Pat Gillick said, adding that the Phillies needed a veteran pitcher.

"As I said, he's got experience and he takes his turn. He's been in the postseason with Minnesota. We thought with (Ryan) Madson going down we had to add somebody to pick up the slack and give us a little more depth in our pitching staff and I think he can fulfill this role."

The Phillies were in second place behind the Mets in the NL East today before beginning a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs. The deadline for trades without waivers is tomorrow.

Maloney, who is 23, was 9-7 with a 3.94 ERA in 21 starts at Double-A Reading, striking out 115 in 125 2-3 innings. He was the South Atlantic League pitcher of the year in 2006, going 16-9 with a 2.03 ERA for Lakewood. He will report to Double-A Chattanooga.

The Phillies entered spring training with six legitimate starters and one of the deepest rotations in the majors. But they've been depleted by injuries and inconsistency.

Freddy Garcia, acquired from the Chicago White Sox in the offseason, was a bust, going 1-5 with a 5.90 ERA in 11 starts before he went down with a shoulder injury. Jon Lieber was 3-6 in 12 starts before a foot injury ended his season in June.

Brett Myers, who moved to the bullpen soon after starting the season opener, just returned from a shoulder injury that sidelined him two months. Former All-Star closer Tom Gordon also missed two months with a shoulder injury. And, reliever Madson just landed on the disabled list yesterday.

Lohse was by far the Reds' most inconsistent starter, pitching either very well or very poorly.

"He's had some ups and downs. He's had some good outings, had some outings that aren't so good," Gillick said.

"(He's) been inconsistent so hopefully he can give us 10 or 12 decent starts in the last 50 or 60 games or whatever role that they decide to use him. If they decide to start him or if they use him in the bullpen, that's up to them."

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel didn't comment before the game.

Lohse was also was the Reds' player most likely to be dealt since Cincinnati didn't expect to re-sign him. He is making $4.2 million his year and is eligible for free agency after the World Series.

Sensing the Reds' interest, several teams had contacted them about a deal.

The Reds were flying to Washington today, a day off, when the deal was concluded. General manager Wayne Krivsky told Lohse not to make the trip because he was about to be traded.

Lohse was scheduled to pitch the series opener tomorrow.

"There was a lot of interest in him — many teams," Krivsky said. "It got to the point where two or three were very active here of late.

"My preference was not to have Kyle Lohse have to get onto an airplane to go to Washington. I kind of made up my mind it was going to get done today before he got on the bus because it would have been awkward."

Left-hander Bobby Livingston, who has been the team's fifth starter, will move into Lohse's spot in the rotation.

In exchange for Lohse, the Reds got a young pitcher who has shown durability.

"Left-handed, good size, knows how to pitch," Krivsky said. "We're excited to have him."